This paper set out to consider whether a new therapeutic approach, Compassionate Mind Training (CMT), could be successfully applied to females who sexually offend against children. It has been argued that CMT could be used to tackle certain existing psychological difficulties thereby allowing them to go on to successfully engage in treatment aimed at reducing their offending behaviour. It may be that many women may need individual therapy aimed at their individual psychological needs prior to their being able to participate successfully in treatment for their offending. If this ‘pre-treatment’ can be provided then the chances of a treatment group or a standardised programme working may be greatly enhanced.
The literature makes it clear that female sexual offenders against children do not form a homogenous group. This presents a challenge to treatment providers as existing models of treatment developed with male sexual offenders are standardised group based approaches and it appears that this may not successfully be mirrored with female offenders. Any group based intervention programme for females will need to be careful to take into account the differences between the women. Although a number of helpful typologies have been developed which differentiate between women on their offending type and consequently their psychological similarities, there are still difficulties inherent in assuming these women share the same treatment needs.
This article has concentrated on three core psychological difficulties that may present themselves in some women who sexually offend against children – attachment difficulties, shame and self-esteem. However, there are likely to be a range of psychological problems faced by these women that space did not permit consideration of in this review, e.g., self- harm, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders etc. It is likely that disorders other than the ones discussed in this article may present difficulties to women that need to be treated prior to their tackling their offending behaviour and that CMT may prove a useful approach in doing this. Further research is needed to establish this.
CMT has not yet been trialled with women who sexually offend against children, so it is clear that research is needed to trial the potential effectiveness of this approach before consideration can be given to incorporating the approach into other models of treatment and the development of assessment procedures to determine which women would benefit from a CMT approach.
Ultimately, whilst treatment to tackle a woman’s underlying psychological needs is desirable, and morally right, the overall purpose of therapy - to prevent re-offending - must not be lost sight of. Further research is therefore needed to establish which areas of psychological need stand in the way of women being successfully able to engage in treatment addressing their offending behaviour.
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The Experience of Care and Compassion in Early Relationships in
the Upbringing of Women who Commit Sexual Offences against
Children
AbstractThis paper reports upon the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of a small number of semi-structured interviews with females who sexually offend against children. The analysis focuses on the way in which these participants make sense of their early relationships, specifically their experiences of care and compassion, and the means by which they understand and make sense of their experiences. One cluster of themes is presented: ‘expectations of parents’ roles’. The women’s stories are interpreted and the similarities and differences between the women’s experiences are discussed. Two further clusters of themes; ‘what is compassion’ and ‘the impact my past had on my present’ were revealed. These are discussed but are not analysed in this paper. Ultimately the themes represent the shared difficulties these women had in their upbringings. This paper demonstrates how much we can learn from these women’s stories. It is hoped that the data can inform treatment approaches and stimulate further research in this area.
Keywords: care and compassion; sex(ual) offen(ces); women; children;
upbringing; relationships
Introduction
Sexual offending was once assumed a male crime but it is increasingly obvious that females are involved too. Intuitively professionals have felt that there are differences in the nature of the involvement, the precipitating factors, and consequently the treatment needs of these women. Eldridge and Saradjian (2000) made the observation that to reduce reoffending treatment for female sex offenders must address the women’s background experiences and the impact these will have had on their attitudes, beliefs and goals. However, given the small number of female sexual offenders and professionals working with them, detailed knowledge
of the background experiences of these women is still sparse and more information is needed to inform treatment approaches.
In a study looking at factors that influence reconviction rates in female nonsexual offenders, Clark & Howden-Windall (2000) found comparable predictive factors for reconviction amongst males and females such as previous offence history, early onset of offending, or previous sentences. However, they found that for female offenders, familial factors such as